Abstract
It is argued that the causal explanation of an event or fact has the same structure in physics and biology. This structure is represented in essence by the deductivenomologic model of explanation. Besides causal explanations, functional and teleologic explanations are considered to be legitimate and indispensable in (comparative) biology. At least in those areas of comparative biology that are based on the use of the principle of homology, the explanation of an event or fact also follows the deductive-nomologic model.
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Mohr, H. Der begriff der Erklärung in Physik und Biologie. Naturwissenschaften 65, 1–6 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00420630
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00420630